Dr. Tulsi: Despite past persecution prefers India
By Suneetha

A genius undeserved by many of us, but he still prefers India to an overseas assignment. Tathagat Avatar Tulsi had been recognised and then derecognised as a young scientific genius by many in the science world. The circle is now complete with him attaining a PhD at the age of 21 to become one of the youngest scientists ever.

Here is Dr. Tathagat Avatar Tulsi talking to Techgoss after he has proved his nay-sayers wrong on their accusation that he was a ‘fraud genius’. He is one of the brightest young minds around and looking to enrich India with it.

Techgoss (TG): Tell us about yourself first, your education, experience and home life
Dr. Tathagat Avatar Tulsi (TAT): Well, I am Tathagat Avatar Tulsi. I did my 10th class at the age of 9, B.Sc. at the age of 10, M.Sc. at the age of 12 from Patna University and Ph.D. at the age of 21 from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

My father Prof. Tulsi Narayan Prasad is a legal advisor at present, my mother Shrimati Chanchal Devi is a teacher. I have two elder brothers: Shri Pita Maheshwar Tulsi who is writing UPSC exam (he wants to be an IAS officer) and Shri Vishwa Purush Tulsi, who is in LLB final year at Delhi University.

TG: You have gone through a lot of trials, both academic and emotional, in your journey to the youngest but one PhD today in India. Tell us what you really feel at this moment? Elated? Relieved?  Triumphant?
TAT: Relieved and triumphant. I had never expected that I will have to face so much of emotional hardships due to my different background. I was certainly not prepared for them. But, now I really feel happy and proud. Indeed, I say that if my Ph.D. was not well-begun, half done, then at least it was "All is well that ends well". 

TG: What was your greatest challenge in reaching this stage?
TAT There were too many challenges but probably the greatest was to come out of the psychological setback that I faced after my 2001 Germany trip due to the negative publicity. It is really horrible when almost everyone around you start suspecting and discouraging you. Because then you just need to be cut off from the society and that is very hard as man is a social animal. It was certainly an experience by itself. I do feel that now, I am much stronger because of the hard times that I have seen.

TG: Who were your greatest supporters?
TAT: Of course, my family.

TG: How did you keep your courage during those difficult times?
TAT: God helped me. What I mean is that I had lost my courage and confidence, so I cannot say that how I kept my courage. Indeed, I lost it. It was only due to some lucky events that I got my courage and confidence back. It was a gradual process and there were too many events responsible for it but the most important was invitation by Prof. Lov Grover, Bell Labs, US to do a collaborative work in 2005. That boosted my confidence a lot. 

TG: Have you met any of the people who disowned you during the last years while you were insulted as a 'fraud genius' after you achieved success? How have they taken your victory?
TAT: There is no point in talking about such people. Let them feel, let them think in whatever way they want. I just want to tell them that it does not bother me now!!

TG: How do your family and your old friends feel about what you underwent all these years?
TAT:  I was away from them during most of these years because I was in Bangalore and they were in Patna. So they may not get a complete picture. I don't want to talk much about my sufferings unless I see a bigger cause for it.

TG: What is your PhD about? What do you intend to do now in academics/research?
TAT:  My PhD is on the quantum search algorithm, broadly speaking, quantum software. I develop software for quantum computer, a kind of supercomputer, which has industrial, scientific as well as military applications. I want to start a research group in India, exclusively focused on the study of quantum computers.  

TG: Where will you be based now?
TAT:  I don't know. I have applied to IIT-Delhi, Bombay and Patna for Assistant Professorship. I am waiting for their decision. I have a PostDoc offer from Institute from Quantum Computing, Waterloo, Canada but I would like to wait for IIT decision first.

TG: You received all these insults; it was almost like a witch-hunt, in India, still why do you say you prefer India to Canada?
TAT:  To make sure that no one faces such kind of insults in future in India. I really don't care whether India, as a nation, recognizes my potential or not. What I care is that whether I recognize the vast pool of talent, potential and opportunities available in our own nation. Time has come to manage them in the efficient way to make our dream of developed India come true. 

TG: What software do you use at work/in personal life?
TAT:  My work does not involve much use of software. Rather, it uses the biggest software available, i.e. brain!! My work is mostly of thinking about new and better ways to solve a particular task. And thinking needs only brain.